Search

This study developed a predictive model using deep learning (DL) and natural language processing (NLP) to identify emergency cases in pediatric emergency departments. It analyzed 87,759 pediatric cases from a South Korean tertiary hospital (2012–2021) using electronic medical records. Various NLP models, including four machine learning (ML) models with Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) and two DL models based on the KM-BERT framework, were trained to differentiate emergency cases using clinician transcripts. Gradient Boosting, among the ML models, performed best with an AUROC of 0.715, AUPRC of 0.778, and F1-score of 0.677. DL models, especially the fine-tuned KM-BERT model, showed superior performance, achieving an AUROC of 0.839, AUPRC of 0.879, and F1-score of 0.773. Shapley-based explanations provided insights into model predictions, underlining the potential of these technologies in medical decision-making. This study demonstrates the potential of advanced DL techniques for NLP in emergency medical settings, offering a more precise and efficient approach to managing healthcare resources and improving patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microglia play a crucial role in synaptic elimination by engulfing dystrophic neurons via triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2). They are also involved in the clearance of beta‐amyloid (Aβ) plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD); nonetheless, the driving force behind TREM2‐mediated phagocytosis of beta‐amyloid (Aβ) plaques remains unknown. Here, using advanced 2D/3D/4D co‐culture systems with loss‐of‐function mutations in TREM2 (a frameshift mutation engineered in exon 2) brain organoids/microglia/assembloids, it is identified that the clearance of Aβ via TREM2 is accelerated by externalized phosphatidylserine (ePtdSer) generated from dystrophic neurons surrounding the Aβ plaques. Moreover, it is investigated whether microglia from both sporadic (CRISPR‐Cas9‐based APOE4 lines) and familial (APPNL‐G‐F/MAPT double knock‐in mice) AD models show reduced levels of TREM2 and lack of phagocytic activity toward ePtdSer‐positive Aβ plaques. Herein new insight is provided into TREM2‐dependent microglial phagocytosis of Aβ plaques in the context of the presence of ePtdSer during AD progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In network industry under Cournot and Bertrand competition, we examine a model when owners of firms hire biased managers who have incorrect market demand. Contrast to previous studies, we show that (i) regardless of the strength of network externalities when consumers form the responsive and passive expectations, owners realize strategic advantage by hiring biased managers to be more aggressive under Cournot and Bertrand competition, (ii) firms prefer facing passive expectations for the weak network externalities and vice versa for the strong network exteranlities under Bertrand and Cournot competition, (iii) if the network size is sufficiently large, then the prisoner's dilemma that firms hire aggressive managers no longer exists under both competition modes. As with no delegation case, we obtain the different rankings of firms' profit depending on both network externalities and forming of expectations under Cournot and Bertrand competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compare collusion stability under Bertrand and Cournot duopoly with differentiated network products. Contrast to previous studies, we show that (i) the range of collusion incentive is narrower under Cournot competition than under Bertrand competition, unless network externalities are sufficiently strong; (ii) collusion in prices (quantities) is more stable than in quantities (prices) if network externalities are strong (weak); and (iii) finally, regardless of the strength of network externalities, collusion under Bertrand competition is more stable for high levels of substitutability than under Cournot competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the strategic commitment of downstream firms' private R&D investments. While an observable investment, as a pre‐production commitment, influences an upstream firm's input price, it affects a rival downstream firm's output. We show that both downstream firms commit to underinvestment (overinvestment) to reduce an input price (compete with a rival firm) in cases of small (large) product substitutability. However, they make their aggressive investments unobservable in the market in cases of medium product substitutability. Furthermore, when both products are sufficiently differentiated, consumer surplus and social welfare are larger when downstream investments are unobservable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the choice of endogenous timing in the presence of network externalities under Bertrand competition. Contrary to the results of sequentiality in equilibrium, we demonstrate that when managers are being delegated both the market and timing decision, there exists a unique simultaneous move in equilibrium regardless of network externalities. However, when the choice of timing remains in the owners' hands, if the network externalities are weak (strong), it involves sequential (simultaneous) equilibrium. Consequently, from the viewpoint of social welfare and consumer surplus, Pareto superiority can be obtained endogenously when the strength of network externalities is strong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common neurodegenerative disorder, is accompanied by cognitive impairment and shows representative pathological features, including senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. Recent evidence suggests that several systemic changes outside the brain are associated with AD and may contribute to its pathogenesis. Among the factors that induce systemic changes in AD, the gut microbiota is increasingly drawing attention. Modulation of gut microbiome, along with continuous attempts to remove pathogenic proteins directly from the brain, is a viable strategy to cure AD. Seeking a holistic understanding of the pathways throughout the body that can affect the pathogenesis, rather than regarding AD solely as a brain disease, may be key to successful therapy. In this review, we focus on the role of the gut microbiota in causing systemic manifestations of AD. The review integrates recently emerging concepts and provides potential mechanisms about the involvement of the gut-brain axis in AD, ranging from gut permeability and inflammation to bacterial translocation and cross-seeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the endogenous determination of a vertical market in an import‐competing market with import tariff. We show that if firms commit to vertical organization before the government's commitment to trade policy, the home and foreign firms choose vertical separation and vertical integration, respectively, at equilibrium under Bertrand competition. Under Cournot competition, the subgame perfect Nash equilibrium entails both firms separating their retailers. Comparing profits between Bertrand competition to Cournot competition, we find that upstream manufacturer's profit can be higher under Bertrand competition with integration than under Cournot competition with separation when comparing foreign upstream manufacturer's profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the endogenous vertical structure in which each manufacturer sells its product to its exclusive retailer who sells network goods to consumers (i.e. a duopoly in the upstream market) under Bertrand competition and Cournot competition with network externalities. We show that with strong (weak) network externalities under Bertrand competition, (a) it is a dominant strategy for each manufacturer to integrate (separate) its retailer; (b) with strong network externalities, the manufacturers' profits, consumers' surplus and social welfare are higher under vertical integration than under vertical separation. Under Cournot competition, (a) vertical separation is a unique subgame perfect Nash equilibrium; (b) with strong network externalities, the manufacturers' profits, consumers' surplus and social welfare are higher under vertical separation than under vertical integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates capacity choice in a vertical structure in which each downstream firm makes its capacity decision, then a monopolistic upstream firm proposes the input price or two‐part tariff contract. Finally, each downstream firm chooses its output (or price). Contrary to the conventional wisdom that both firms hold excess capacity in an Cournot competition, we find that each downstream firm always chooses undercapacity regardless of both the nature of goods and the competition modes. Second, we also show that capacity efficiency is higher under Cournot competition than under Bertrand competition. Third, even though there are double marginalization distortion and rent‐extracting effect, we can achieve the monopoly equilibrium of the vertically integrated firm though two‐part tariff contract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving the high theoretical energy density (∼3500 W h kg−1) of Li–O2 batteries involves maximizing the electrochemically active surface area (EASA) of the electrodes. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely adopted for Li–O2 electrodes but their EASA is limited by their electrolyte-phobic surface nature and the strong van der Waals interaction between CNTs. To increase the affinity between CNT-based electrodes and the electrolyte without decreasing CNT chemical stability, CNT buckypapers are functionalized with 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenylmaleimide. The solubility parameters of the electrolyte and CNTs are considered so that the maleimide groups increase the affinity between the electrode and electrolyte and the 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl groups protect the maleimide groups from decomposition. The functionalized CNT cathode exhibits a 58% greater discharge capacity and a 50% increased cyclability compared to the pristine CNT cathode when a 1 : 2.5 weight ratio of CNT to electrolyte was used due to an increased EASA and steric hindrance effect. Finally, a 3D folded Li–O2 cell is fabricated using the functionalized CNT-based cathode and demonstrated 30 cycles at 100 W h kgcell−1 cutoff. These results clearly show that high energy density and long cycling performance of Li–O2 batteries can be achieved even with a much reduced amount of electrolyte by increasing the affinity between CNT-based electrodes and the electrolyte. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With strategic trade policies, we consider first- and second-mover advantages in a vertical structure given the two-part tariff contract (composed of the input price and the fixed fee) of an upstream firm, where a home and a foreign final-good firms export to a third-country market. We find that the upstream firms’ and governments’ preference orderings over sequential versus simultaneous play and over free trade versus a regime of subsidies contrast with early results in the strategic trade policy. Thus, the endogenous market structure is that (i) the potential leader chooses the Leader role with quantity strategies, and the equilibrium trade regime is unilateral subsidy regardless of the nature of goods; (ii) with price strategies, the potential leader chooses the simultaneous timing, and the equilibrium trade regime is bilateral taxes (free trade) when goods are substitutes (complements). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

By incorporating port competition into a third-market model consisting of two exporting firms and one importing country, we demonstrate the endogenous choice of port structures (i.e. privatization or public ownership) under either Bertrand or Cournot competition. In contrast to previous studies on port competition, we analyze the port strategy in view of all trading countries (i.e. importing country and exporting countries). We find that regardless of transport cost, the port ownership strategy alters according to exporting firm’s competition mode. Under Bertrand competition, the choice of port ownership structure depends on the degree of imperfect substitutability. However, under Cournot competition, all trading countries choose same ownership structures of each port. By comparing equilibrium of each competition mode, we show that welfare of exporting country under Cournot competition is higher than under Bertrand competition if goods are sufficiently substitutes. In contrast, importing country prefers Bertrand competition to Cournot competition when the competitive pressure is sufficiently high. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Scaling up the production capacity of spark discharge generated nanoparticles is crucial for their industrial application. Among various options, high-frequency spark discharge generation is a promising route as the mass production rate of nanoparticles should simply scale linearly with the spark frequency. However, reports of spark discharge generators operating above 1 kHz are scarce in the literature, as spark discharges at higher frequencies have been observed to be irregular, leading to premature spark discharges that result in a significantly lower mass production rate. In this study, we present a wire-to-plate electrode configuration that suppresses premature spark discharges during high-frequency operations above 1 kHz, and investigate the factors that contribute to the occurrence of premature spark discharges by comparing the performance of the wire-to-plate electrode configuration to those of rod-to-rod and wire-to-rod configurations. We identified that spark duration should be minimized to achieve stable spark discharge events as it correlates to the time required for the spark plasma to be completely removed from the spark zone, and found that increasing local electric field intensity and carrier gas velocity are both beneficial to achieving stable high frequency spark discharges. Lastly, using the wire-to-plate electrodes, we show that stable operation without premature spark discharges can be achieved up to 17.9 kHz and the copper nanoparticle production rate scales as expected (up to 7.6 mg/h) when premature spark discharges are eliminated during high frequency operations. Copyright © 2017 American Association for Aerosol Research [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ABSTRACT This paper compares Bertrand and Cournot competition in a vertical structure in which the upstream firm sets the input price and makes R&D investments. We show that from the downstream firms' point of view, Cournot competition has the advantage of a more monopolistic effect, leading to the setting of a higher price, but has the disadvantage of inducing a lower incentive for the upstream firm to invest. On the other hand, Bertrand competition has the advantage of providing a greater incentive for the upstream firm to invest but has the disadvantage of a more competitive effect, leading to the setting of a lower price. Our main findings are as follows. First, R&D investment level is greater under Bertrand competition than under Cournot competition. Second, from the standpoint of the upstream firm and industry, Bertrand competition is more efficient than Cournot competition. Third, from the standpoint of the downstream firms, Bertrand competition is more efficient than Cournot when investment is sufficiently efficient and products are sufficiently differentiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrode configuration in a spark discharge generator plays a critical role in the characteristics of the process. For instance, the rod-to-rod configuration is unable to prevent nanoparticles from agglomerating due to slow local carrier gas velocity. On the other hand, the recently developed pin-to-plate configuration is able to produce unagglomerated nanoparticles; however, the geometric mean diameter and the number concentration of produced nanoparticles change over time as the pin gets eroded. In this work, we present a novel wire-in-hole-type spark discharge generator (WH-SDG) which is able to generate unagglomerated nanoparticles with a constant size distribution over a long time. The WH-SDG, which consists of a metal wire and a grounded plate with a hole in which the metal wire is located in the center, effectively suppressed changes in the electrode morphology and the gap distance, which cause the minimal variation of the spark discharge voltage and frequency in time. Therefore, the WH-SDG was able to maintain a constant size distribution of the generated nanoparticles for 12 h. In addition, it was found that the WH-SDG could control the diameter of nanoparticles by regulating the gas flow rate into generator, and could produce nanoparticles from various metals such as copper and palladium. Copyright 2015 American Association for Aerosol Research [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper we analyze vertical restraints by two manufacturers in which each sells through a separate retailer who has private information on the uncertain demand it faces. The degree of product differentiation plays an important role in equilibrium. If the products are differentiated, the dominant strategy is for each manufacturer to itself stipulate the retail price of its products. If the products are homogeneous, there exist two equilibria: either both manufacturers impose retail price maintenance (RPM), or both delegate pricing to the retailer. Social welfare is greater under regulatory regimes that permit RPM, irrespective of product differentiation or demand uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the authority control practices in molecular biology using literature review and scenario analysis and makes a comparison with bibliographic authority control. The analysis indicates the absence of conceptual authority control model in molecular bioinformatics. In addition to traditional knowledge organization tools, authority control in molecular biology requires the use of reference sequences and version numbers to identify entities and keep track of entity changes. The identified authority control issues are conceptualized as quality problems caused by four sources. This study can inform librarians and educators of the need for and approaches to authority control in molecular biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Developing effective drugs for Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia, has been difficult because of complicated pathogenesis. The difficulty of acquiring human brain samples and the lack of a disease model that adequately recapitulates the pathological hallmarks pose significant challenges in the field. Method: Here, we report an efficient, network‐based drug‐screening platform developed by integrating mathematical modelling and the pathological features of AD with human iPSC‐derived cerebral organoids (iCOs), including CRISPR‐Cas9‐edited isogenic lines. We use 1,300 organoids from 11 participants to build a high‐ content screening (HCS) system and test blood‐brain barrier‐permeable FDA‐approved drugs. Result: Our results confirmed that our iCOs had pathological features of AD, and thus could be an appropriate model reflecting characteristics of the actual disease‐related human brain lesions. Also, We completed the construction and validation of the molecular regulatory network model for AD. We proposed candidate drugs based on systems analysis of the dynamical network model with detailed regulatory mechanisms. We found that all of the candidate drugs were effective to some degree in reducing Aβ or tau deposition and enhancing or maintaining neuronal cell viability. Conclusion: Our study provides a strategy for precision medicine through the convergence of mathematical modelling and a miniature pathological brain model using iCOs. With further generation of the iCOs or iPSC‐derived microglia (iMG) from various types of AD patients, our approach may propose strategies for the precision medicine therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age‐related neurodegenerative disease. The most common pathological hallmarks are amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. In the brains of patients with AD, pathological tau is abnormally accumulated causing neuronal loss, synaptic dysfunction, and cognitive decline. We found a histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) inhibitor, CKD‐504, changed the tau interactome dramatically to degrade pathological tau not only in AD animal model (ADLPAPT) brains containing both amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles but also in AD patient‐derived brain organoids. Acetylated tau recruited chaperone proteins such as Hsp40, Hsp70, and Hsp110, and this complex bound to novel tau E3 ligases including UBE2O and RNF14. This complex degraded pathological tau through proteasomal pathway. We also identified the responsible acetylation sites on tau. These dramatic tau‐interactome changes may result in tau degradation, leading to the recovery of synaptic pathology and cognitive decline in the ADLPAPT mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid electrolytes (SE) are key components for the safe and continuous operation of high-energy lithium metal batteries. Metal oxide SEs, which are stable under ambient conditions, are used as separators in the form of thick and heavy plates; however, this reduces the specific energy of practical battery cells. Despite considerable efforts, the development of thin SE separators with high ionic conductivities has remained a significant challenge. This paper reports the scalable production of a thin membrane comprising single-crystal SE particles that are bicontinuously embedded in a polymer matrix to form ion-conducting channels. The membrane exhibits a high ionic conductivity of 6.0 × 10−4 S cm−1 with remarkably low activation energy (20-times greater than that of current membranes with polycrystalline SE particles), eliminating large grain boundary resistances. The high conductivity enables stable lithium metal stripping and plating, producing a homogeneous ion flow to the lithium metal. Furthermore, a lithium metal–air battery cell using the membrane demonstrates a high specific energy of 700 Wh kg−1. Image 1 • Li-ion conducting membrane using single-crystal Li 1.3 Al 0.3 Ti 1.7 (PO 4) 3 particles. • The solid electrolyte embedded membrane is prepared by a scalable wet-process. • High ion conductivity of the membrane is 6.0 × 10−4 S cm−1 with an E a of 0.18 eV. • A Li–air battery cell using the membrane exhibits a specific energy of 700 Wh kg−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]